I mentioned last week that I just ordered a Kindle Fire and would be writing a post about how I got it absolutely free once it had arrived. Well, it has arrived!

It actually got here a couple of days ago, but I wanted to play with it a bit before writing this so that I could also at least make a short comment on whether or not I think it was a good buy. I mean, free is free – and that is always awesome – but there is no point in making an effort to get something for free, if it doesn’t really work out to be worth the effort.

So, let’s start with that quick comment: Yep, I love it! I’ve already loaded it with e-books, watched a few movies on Netflix, played some games, checked my email, surfed the Web, shopped online and checked my PayPal balance. That is pretty much everything I was hoping to be able to do with it, and it worked like a charm.

Now, let’s get to the good part and why you are really here, since I know you really want to hear how I got my Kindle Fire free.

Okay, remember all those point-earning programs I’ve been chatting about for the last couple of months? Well, Amazon gift cards are just one of the many things you can get when you turn those points in for cash, gift cards or prizes. Since I use multiple point-earning programs, I checked out each one to see which gift cards they offered in common. It turns out that most of them offer Amazon gift cards, which worked out perfectly for me, since I wanted to go for a Kindle Fire.

Kindles are eligible for Amazon’s free Super Saver Shipping, but I opted for a slightly faster shipping method, so I needed to cover the cost of the product, shipping and tax. Since the Kindle Fire is $199.99, this came out to a total of $217.71, which means I needed to earn at least $220 in free Amazon gift cards from my points programs.

Here is the breakdown of how I did it:

I started out with three $25 Amazon gift cards from Chase Bank, which were acquired using their old points program (before they changed things up). Since I had just received these, my goal was to earn enough with other points programs to get free gift cards to cover the other $145 I needed for the Kindle.

MyPoints: Turned in 15,000 points for two $50 Amazon gift cards (It is 7,500 points for one gift card).

Now, I imagine you would like to know how exactly I earned these points. It couldn’t have been easier…I just did online searches and printed coupons through SwagBucks, and printed coupons, read emails and took surveys through MyPoints. You can also earn points faster by shopping online and taking advantage of other point-earning opportunities.

I think it’s important to note that, while you can earn points by shopping and doing other things that cost money, I did not do that. You do not have to buy things to earn points quickly through these programs.

I chose to use MyPoints and SwagBucks to earn points, since I already use them every day, but you also could use Viggle, where you earn points for watching TV and can currently get a $25 Amazon gift card for 62,500 points, or whichever other points program works best for you. I have about 89,000 points on Viggle right now, so I’m still deciding which awesome gift card to go for on there. I might go for that Amazon card to get Kindle accessories!

For me, SwagBucks is the fastest way to earn gift cards really easily. Of course, I'm a writer, so I'm always searching for something online, which is why a program like this (where you earn points for searching online) is a perfect choice for me. If you like taking surveys or shopping online, MyPoints might be the one for you. If you like watching TV, you might want to check out Viggle.

Take a look at my Make Money page to find other programs where you can easily and quickly earn cash, gift cards and prizes.